Bhubaneswar: With Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announcing a reduction of three rupees in the Value Added Tax on Petrol and Diesel, the retail prices of both the fuel have come down in the state from today morning. This has come as a big relief for the common man who is impacted by the high inflation rates for the past few months. With the reduction of VAT in the state coming into effect from today, the new petrol and Diesel prices in capital Bhubaneswar came down to Rs 101.81 and 91.62 respectively. Likewise in Cuttack price of petrol is Rs 102.17 and Diesel is Rs 91.97. In Berhampur the price of Petrol came down to Rs 103.33 and Diesel to Rs 93.09. In Sambalpur, prices of petrol and diesel came down to Rs 102.50 and Rs 92.33. Malkangiri, which is hit hard by the price rise saw a reduction of three rupees in both the fuels and the new rates in stood at Rs 107. 55 and Rs 97.17 respectively.
The reduction in the prices has been hailed by all walks of the society. From common man to small traders have welcomed the reduction in Vat by the state government. According the Siba Prasad Dehury, a resident of Jayadev Bihar in the capital, “I am thankful to the state government that it reduced the VAT. We can have small savings due to this. I usually spend about Rs 2000 in fuel costs and the price cut is definitely going to help me saving money.”
For Ramakanta Prusty, a small trader from Cuttak, the three rupees cut means a lot. He says, “ There have been price rise of all items in the market. Petro being the most necessary item, it’s price should be kept lower.” The price cut has also came a a big relief for the auto and taxi drivers across the state. Dinabandhu das, an auto driver residing at Sambalpur says that he spends about Rs 16 thousand rupees on diesel every month. The reduction in prices is definitely going to help his financially.
The state government has announced a reduction in the VAT on Petrol and Diesel prices on Thursday. Due to this reduction, the state will loose VAT revenue to the tune of Rs 1400 Crore per annum. This is in addition to the loss in VAT collection at the rate of Rs. 1.6 per litre on petrol and Rs. 2.8 per liter on diesel, total amounting to Rs 700 Cr., which the state is likely to incur in view of Excise duty reduction by Government of India.